This article deals with the role of public research in Italian agriculture during the period 1960 to 1995. A short-term specification of the GL cost function capable of accommodating quasi-fixed factors and variable returns is employed. Temporary equilibrium and scale economies are investigated with special emphasis on methodological implications of R&D stock and;consistency of the estimated model with microeconomic theory. Confronting the relevant shadow and rental price the model provides evidence on the topics of under (over) investment and the rationale driving public research expenditure in agriculture A formal test for the induced innovation hypothesis, the calculation of the internal rate of returns and TFP growth decomposition are also considered.

This paper investigates the effect of parentsÆ current income and long-term;family characteristics on individualsÆ highest educational qualification ob-tained;by age 26 using UK data from the 1970 British Cohort Study. The;issues of the possible sample selection bias produced by the not completely;random omission of current family income and that of its potential endo-geneity;are addressed, using a hot-deck multiple imputation procedure and;including an indicator of child ability, respectively. I find evidence that cur-rent;family income has a statistically significant positive impact on childrenÆs;education, although it is one of negligible magnitude. Long-term family char-acteristics;are far more important.

Conservation Policies as Local Development Policies: The Case of the Italian National Parks [settembre 2002]

Abstract:

After briefly discussing the extent and features of Italian national parks, this paper takes some steps toward building a conceptual system for conservation policies in national parks where cultural capital as well as natural capital is subject to conservation. It argues that in protected territories where human landscapes predominate over natural ones, conservation policies ought to be conceptualised as development policies. Constraining property rights on local resources - which is the conventional view on conservation policies - should be set in the context of a more broadly encompassing approach whose key element is the regulation of the development trajectories of local systems.

Student Time Allocation and Educational Production Functions [luglio 2002]

Keywords:

course attendance, student performance, time allocation

JEL Classification:

I21

Health, Education, and Welfare - Education and Research Institutions - Analysis of Education

Abstract:

In this paper we aim to remedy some shortcomings in the economic literature on university student absenteeism and academic performance. We start by introducing a simple theoretical model in which students decide the optimal allocation of their time between lecture attendance, self-study and leisure. Under some speci.c assumptions, we .nd a positive relationship between lecture attendance and time devoted to self-study in each course, from which we infer that estimates of student performance regressions which omit self-study might be biased. Thus, we estimate an academic performance regression using data from .rst year undergraduate students of economics in the academic year 1998-99 at the University of Ancona (Italy) and .nd evidence that once self-study time is controlled for, the positive and signi.cant e.ect of lecture attendance for some courses disappears. This is likely to be important especially when student performance regressions are used to evaluate the effectiveness of course attendance and to inform the debate on the introduction of mandatory attendance on some courses to enhance student performance. JEL Class.: I21 Keywords: course attendance, student performance, time allocation

The Anderson-Moore algorithm provides a well-established solution method for forward-looking linear rational expectations models. It is widely used at the Federal Reserve Board for a variety of purposes, ranging from simulations of macroeconometric models to computations based on models of monetary policy. The aim of this paper is to support a wider use of the Anderson-Moore method by discussing the practical sides of its application. I describe the features of one of its Matlab implementations that is freely downloadable from the web. Experience shows that one is usually required to spend quite some time in order to fully understand how the available Matlab functions work. The ·emphasis is on the structures that should be modified to tailor the programs to one's needs. I also present the application of the algorithm to Coenen and Wieland (2000)'s macromodel of the Euro area.

This paper deals with the policy and regulatory options currently adopted for managing the main issues raised by the recent large diffusion of the genetically modified crops. A first aim is to analyse in depth which are these policy options and which is the rationale behind them. Though many different national approaches can be observed worldwide, USA and UE are the most relevant and cited cases of alternative (strongly permissive vs. strongly preventive) regulatory frameworks. In particular, the paper stresses the main explanations and implications of this USAvs.UE controversy also in terms of international negotiations. The paper focuses in particular on the WTO negotiations and the conflicts emerged in this context with respect to the GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) trade; attention is paid to illustrate to what extent the current WTO agreements can eventually admit both national precautionary regulations and international free trade for GMOs.

Monetary Policy Shocks and the Role of House Prices Across European Countries [maggio 2002]

Abstract:

Housing systems, as a major sector of industrialised economies, might have profound effects on the transmission mechanism of a monetary shock. Despite a progressive convergence, however, EU countries still differ significantly in their housing and credit market institutions. This paper provides a theoretical discussion of the "housing market" channels of the monetary transmission mechanism (MTM) and offers some evidence on institutional differences across EU countries. Using recursive and semi-structural VARs, we identify monetary policy shocks and assess their effects on residential prices in eight European countries over the EMS period. Results show a different degree of sensitivity of house prices, partly consistent with the institutional features of the European housing systems. We then investigate the importance of these policy-induced changes in house prices in transmitting monetary shocks to the private consumption. In some countries, results provide some support for the view that house price channel may be an important source of MTM to consumption.

We examine the interplay between monetary and fiscal policies in a context where disturbances to the public deficit process are a primary source of macroeconomic instability. We perform simulations of optimal targeting rules on a sticky-price model a la Woodford (1996). Our investigation compares the dynamic adjustment path under inflation targeting with that arising from nominal income growth targeting. When fiscal shocks enter the picture, inflation targeting is a superior strategy. In opposition to Jensen (1999)'s results, we show that an inflation targeter is capable of bringing about the required degree of interest rate inertia. This does not occur at the cost of additional nominal instability.

Aggregate demand models extending IS/LM fixed price framework yield an enhancement mechanism of the traditional monetary transmission mechanism, the credit channel, which, according to the credit view, works through the "balance sheet channel" and the "bank lending channel". In this paper I modify the augmented IS/LM model assuming that investments may be financed by both internal and external sources of funds. The inclusion of internal funds in the augmented IS/LM fixed price model suggests a different interpretation of the "balance sheet channel" as an enhancement mechanism amplifying monetary policv effects through the quantity rather than the cost of borrowing. Thus, changes in borrowers' net worth over the cycle can amplify and propagate output fluctuations directly rather than indirectly as in the traditional interpretation of the balance sheet channel. The empirical analysis of the monetary transmission mechanism for Italy in the last decade accords with the interpretation of the balance sheet channel proposed in this paper.